GOP lawmakers look to strengthen animal cruelty penalties
Malliotakis, Lanza pushing package of bills
New York State should be doing a better job of protecting animals, according to two Republican state lawmakers who are pushing for passage of a package of bills designed to increase the penalties for suspects committing cruelty to animals.
Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis (R-C-Bay Ridge-Staten Island) and state Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-C-Staten Island) are working together to try to get the package of bills approved in their respective legislative houses.
The idea is to close legal loopholes that currently exist so that suspects who commit acts of cruelty toward animals can be punished to the full extent of the law, according to Malliotakis.